Bands and belts of the type envisaged by the present invention include belts having an internal reinforcing member typically made from textile fibers or wire strands, the reinforcing member being enclosed within the remainder of the belt which is an extrudate made up from TP polyester or polyurethane resins.
In order to provide a continuous band or belt from an extruded section, there are a number of prior art systems in existence.
A first prior art method involves butt welding. However, such butt welding methods tend to introduce a weakness at the join area and great care must be taken when aligning the two ends for welding.
A second prior art method involves utilizing connectors for joining one end of belt to another. While such a system may be quick and convenient, it tends to be compromised in terms of strength/performance.
In each of the abovementioned systems, there is introduced weakness into the system since the reinforcing member running through the belt is cut and strength of the join is compromised.
It is an aim of embodiments of the present invention to provide an improved method for preparing and making a join in bands/belts having a reinforcing member.